Housing
Flatland covers stories about affordable housing, evictions and tenant rights in the Kansas City metro and surrounding area.
Streetcar-Inspired Main Street Land Rush Continues With Mac Properties Deal
Mac Properties has acquired a high-profile site at Main Street and Armour Boulevard and is planning a substantial mixed-use project including apartments and retail.
West Plaza Flats Project Importing ‘Co-Living’ Concept to KC
By Kevin Collison Construction has begun on a five-story apartment project at 44th and Belleview that’s introducing a lifestyle imported from Denmark and an imposing tower crane above the West Plaza. The 102-unit West Plaza Flats development is being built on a 1.5-acre site at 4400-4434 Belleview by Price Management. The site originally was approved…
Affordable Townhome Project Proposed in Troost Corridor
By Kevin Collison The developer of the Wonder Shops + Flats project on Troost wants to continue investing in the area by building nine townhomes at 29th and Forest as affordable housing, but there’s one hitch. While the vacant property where the Forest Townhomes project is planned is part of a longtime neighborhood in the…
Surviving Today: Landlords and Tenants Square Off as Eviction Moratorium Expires
Evictions continue despite a pandemic and despite a moratorium. Here’s what it’s like.
Plans for Apartments Sprout Like Topsy Near City Market
A wave of apartment development proposals near the City Market is raising questions about density, parking, transit and affordability for city planners.
Another Big Apartment Deal Proposed Near City Market
By Kevin Collison A 189-unit apartment project that would replace two public parking lots and span Main Street south of the City Market has been introduced to the City Council, part of an ambitious wave of housing proposals in the area. The City Planning and Development Department is recommending an entity called 500 Main Developers…
Downtown Council Drops Homeless Camp Idea, Welcomes Donations to Community Center
By Kevin Collison The Downtown Council’s efforts to help the homeless population got some good news this Thanksgiving week, tempering the collapse of its proposal to establish a temporary camp for emergency shelter this winter. A fundraiser led by engineering firm Burns & McDonnell raised $105,000 in cash and in-kind contributions to build a new…
Rival Plans to Develop Apartments by City Market Include 12-Story Tower
By Kevin Collison Two rival apartment plans are being pitched for a public parking lot next to the City Market, one a 12-story tower proposed by an Indianapolis developer, the other a five-story project submitted by a local group. The two developers, Flaherty & Collins of Indy and locally-based RM Housing Partners LLC, responded to…
Affordable Apartment Proposal Would Bring More Bark to Berkley
By Kevin Collison The organization behind The Grooming Project, a non-profit that provides career training in dog grooming for impoverished single parents, wants to open another school on the riverfront as part of an affordable apartment project. EPEC, which stands for Empowering the Parent to Empower Children, is applying for state low income housing tax…
How Reverse Mortgages Backfire in Low-Income, Minority Neighborhoods
Reverse mortgages can backfire in low-income and minority neighborhoods if homeowners don’t account for property tax and insurance payments.